Grief
by Inumaru12
Summary: Flint may be mourning the loss of his wife and son, but he's not the only one.  ANGSTY. One-shot.  My first Earthbound/Mother fanfiction, so hopefully it's okay   Inspired by the awesome "Emerald Otter" and his/her amazing Mother stories


**Title:****Grief  
>Rating:<strong> K+**  
>Pairing:<strong> None. **  
>Warning:<strong> Some spoilers, ANGSTY, somewhat OOC-ness.  
><span><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I don't own Mother 3**  
>Summery:<strong> Flint may be mourning the loss of his wife and son, but he's not the only one.

**Inumaru12:** My first Mother fanfiction! Here's to hoping it goes well!

Flint, Lucas' father, is hardly ever home anymore. Lucas does what he can; he makes food, feeds Boney and the sheep, keeps the house clean, and stays out of trouble.

He's so lonely.

After spending his entire life with his mother and brother to suddenly having them ripped away, Lucas felt understandably lacking. His father wasn't helping the cause either. Every day he left without a word to Lucas to go to his dead wife's grave and then off to look for Claus. Every night he would come back empty handed.

Lucas felt so empty.

One night though, was very different. When Flint came home, he was drunk. For once he was actually speaking to Lucas but the blond haired boy soon wished he wasn't.

The man slurred and swung drunkenly at Lucas, missing but effectively scaring the boy. He tried to lead his father to bed, but the man was too stubborn. He kept telling Lucas that he wanted an omelet, so Lucas made his father an omelet. The man ended up taking a bite and contemplating it before throwing it across the room. He said it was nothing like his wife's and said it tasted burnt.

Lucas busied himself and hid his tears by cleaning up the mess his father made. He could feel his father's eyes watching him and winced when he saw that his father noticed his tears.

"You crying again? Why can't you be more like Claus?" The man's voice was slurred and had a bitter tone.

Lucas said nothing but bit back a sob.

Suddenly he was pulled off his hands and knees from where he was cleaning off the floor and pulled to his feet. His father groaned.

"You can't even clean right. Where is your head boy?"

Lucas looked down at the ground, ashamed in his lack of anything useful.

"Why couldn't it have been you?" Flint asked suddenly, his voice filled with sorrow and anger.

The blonde boy looked up hesitantly in confusion.

"Why couldn't you have been the one to die instead?"

Lucas felt like the whole world crashed around him.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Flint woke up the next morning with the worse headache he's had in a long, long time. He remembered going to the bar last night and taking some shots but not a lot else after that. How had he gotten home and in bed even?

His shoes were untied and sitting by the bed. He didn't think he would be able to do that drunk so the only logical explanation is that Lucas must have helped him to bed. He slipped his boots back on and grabbed for his hat before heading downstairs.

He looked around and frowned. Lucas was nowhere in sight, that wasn't like him. Figuring the boy was out doing whatever, Flint left for the mountains again.

Hours later he had decided to cut his search off early when it started to rain and the wind started whipping. He made a detour to his wife's grave, which he always did no matter the weather. He was surprised to find that someone was already there. Even from far away, Flint would always know the shocking blond hair of his son just as he would always know that the shaking shoulders meant that Lucas was crying.

"Lucas…"

His son didn't seem to hear him. His head was lowered and Flint was unable to see his face.

"You'll catch your death, boy. Come home, you can come back to visit your Ma tomorrow."

The man pulled his son up but the boy was unresponsive. Flint felt annoyance flare through him. It had always irritated him how coddled and cry baby-ish Lucas was and ever since he had lost half of his family the length of his patience had shortened even more.

"Stop it. Just STOP CRYING! I lost my wife and son too, but there is no time for tears. Why are you still crying? WHY?"

Flint shook Lucas feeling anger that he hadn't felt since he was informed that his wife had been killed. Murdered. Dead.

Finally, Lucas looked at him. The boy's blue eyes, which had once been so bright and happy, were now dull and filled with tears and red. The boy was quivering from his emotions and was taking sharp gasps of air.

"I-I'm sorry." Lucas' voice croaked, making Flint realize that he hadn't heard him speak in a while.

"I'm sorry it wasn't me instead. I wish it was. If Claus had lived…it would've been easier. H-he could've made an omelet, he could clean up b-better than me, and he could be a better son. I wish I had died instead."

And with that the waterworks started again, deep sobs shaking the boy's body while his father watched on with a sense of horror and awe.

How…how could his son think this? Suddenly, the memories from the night before came rushing back with a loathing. Never had Flint hated himself more than right then. How could he have said those things to him? How could he have been so selfishly wrapped in his own grief to notice his own son's needs?

There was a knot in Flint's chest that had been there since he had lost half of his family. It grew with everyday he didn't find Claus and every time he woke up in the bed and his wife wasn't on the other side. It grew when he saw how sad and withdrawn Lucas had become. It was so tight and large it physically hurt the man, and seeing Lucas like this, it began to pull at it even more.

Flint fell to his knees and pulled Lucas (his son, _his son_) into his arms and finally released the huge knot in his chest.

The husband and father cried for the first time since his (_their_) loss. He held his son as the rain poured on them and the man begged for forgiveness, from his son or his wife or god or anyone, he wasn't sure. He just held his son who needed to be held and let it all out.

The heartbroken man told himself that he would never let his son suffer because of his negligence again.

_Everyone makes mistakes and while some are too grave to ever take back, some can be fixed as long as you take a chance and truly repent._

**Owari**

**Inumaru12**: Um, that ending….Not too sure of it, but Flint is truly sorry for what his negligence has caused Lucas to go through and the moral of the story that while we may lose and go through grief but if we stay too stuck on your own grief/self, you will never see how much pain you can be causing someone else. *Hugs Lucas* Please review and tell me what you think.


End file.
